Vigneto

At 33, Saskia de Rothschild is the youngest person currently leading a Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux estate, the legendary Château Lafite Rothschild, which has been in her family since 1868. She’s also the first-ever female chairwoman of Domaines Barons

THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST BUNCH OF GRAPES, GROWN IN 2018 BY SEBASTIÁN GÓMEZ FALCÓN IN LOS PALACIOS Y VILLAFRANCA, SPAIN THE APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF GRAPEVINE VARIETIES FOUND ACROSS THE WORLD, THE MOST WIDELY PLANTED BEING CABERNET SAUVIGNON The

Run by Santiago Mayorga, this innovative winery focuses on making terroir-driven wines from non-traditional varieties such as Petit Verdot, Criolla Chica and Pinot Noir, in addition to the more common Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. In eac

‘For us, hell began in May, after the first heatwaves,’ says Jean-Baptiste Rivail (left), general manager of Newton Vineyard in Napa Valley. ‘100% of our irrigation is from collected rainwater, and by May we hadn’t had a drop of rain. ‘We realised we

California Chardonnay is in a good place right now. It has burst forth from a long, controversial period where it was cocooned in a reputation of buttery vapor or worse. During those dark days of derision, not everyone abandoned hope, however. Least

In the Cape South Coast region of South Africa’s Western Cape lies an area so breathtakingly idyllic, its name is the stuff of poetry: Hemel-en-Aarde, or “heaven and earth” in Afrikaans. Incredibly fitting, the name paints a perfect picture. Near end

South Africa’s 2021 wine harvest is well under way, and a slightly larger crop than last year’s crop of 1,3 million tons is expected, according to Vinpro. However, producers will have to make tough decisions in the vineyards as cellar capacity is und

Wine writing is full of discussions about different grapevine varieties, often with mentions of the soils they are growing in. But usually ignored is the thing that links the two together – the vine rootstock. Rootstocks influence how grapes ripen. H

There is so much more to Spain’s red grape varieties than Tempranillo. Mencía, for instance, that crunchy, refreshing variety of the northwest. Garnacha, too, which has been brought back in from the cold winds of disapproval and is turning up all ove

Set amidst bluebell-strewn woods, from where the vineyard derives its name, Bluebell Vineyard Estates is a family-run vineyard and winery. The owners say it has a passion for producing world class ‘still’ and sparkling wines. It’s based 1.5 miles fro

The single-minded pursuit of purity in Riesling expression is Jeffrey Grosset’s obsession, although it’s not manic energy that fuels his relentless engine. The quietly spoken, self-effacing Clare winemaker’s intrinsic nature is to be contemplative an

At 33, Saskia de Rothschild is the youngest person currently leading a Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux estate, the legendary Château Lafite Rothschild, which has been in her family since 1868. She’s also the first-ever female chairwoman of Domaines Barons

The silver lining of the sad news that bars have been forced to close (again) this Christmas? You can spend all the cash you would have spent out on (even more) booze to drink at home – and still help support small businesses. Wine subscriptions are

Bringing a touch of sparkle to their stunning Tudor manor house, Eric and Hannah Heerema deck the halls with swathes of festive foliage as they prepare to celebrate Christmas. But while the tree is twinkling with fairy lights and log fires crackle in

In 2020, we mark the 21st anniversary of Wine Enthusiast’s Annual Wine Star Awards, honoring the individuals and companies that make outstanding contributions to the wine and alcohol beverage world. In a challenging year, we salute the dedicated prof

From the late 1700s, when Spanish friars planted vines in Santa Barbara County, to the end of the 19th century, when French and Italian immigrants established nurseries and vineyards throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, California’s Central Coast has

Virginia wine-growers, already suffering Covid-related tourism and restaurant losses in April 2020, were dealt a further blow when frost hit in May. Workers battled an extended cold snap with bonfires, smudge pots, wind machines and helicopters. The

France’s first ‘dry January’ campaign divided the nation, criticised by several leading writers and chefs as an ‘Anglo-Saxon and puritan obsession’. Australia’s bushfires dominated headlines. Wine Australia said less than 1% of vineyard land lay in f

Grapes were dumped into large stone vats, where they would be crushed beneath the feet of up to six slaves. Once grapes were ripened, which takes around three to four months, they were picked by hand and bundled into sacks. Vineyards were generally p

Owners Dan & Nicole Standish Founded 1999 Winery location Light Pass, Barossa Valley Annual production 12,000-28,000 bottles Vineyard sources 12 Barossa vineyards totalling 42ha, of which 2ha (in Light Pass) is estate-owned Vine age Planted between 1

Shawn Hennessey shares her food and wine highlights No longer ‘just an airport’, Málaga has reinvented itself as a world-class travel destination over the past decade. With the addition of several museums and art galleries, a revamped port and the r

Ribera del Duero represents the contrast between wines that take a long time to be made and ages to reach their full potential, and the hectic movement of new wineries, innovative winemakers, previously unheard-of old-vine vineyards, new wine styles,

Climate Mediterranean with continental influences, varying across the DO Soils Mainly granitic with low pH; El Tiemblo and Cebreros have some distinct vineyards on schist Zones Cebreros has three distinct zones, created by the rivers Alberche and T

Established in Toledo in 1999, Arrayán is managed by winemaker Maite Sánchez. Its Garnacha de Arrayán is grown at 900m in the Arrebatacapas pass. It also produces a Cebreros Albillo Real. Working in the region since 2008, and one of the first to make

As a child, Gabriel Pérez would run through his parents’ vineyards in Quel. Although there wasn’t a corner of the Sierra de Yerga that he didn’t know like the back of his hand, there was a special enclave called La Pasada: the highest, most remote an

Darren Smith profiles the names you need to know and recommends bottles to buy Authentic wines, hard work and a dedication to their land and its traditions – these are characteristics common to all the emerging winemaking talents featured here. In e

New York state has found a solution to global warming – at least for wine lovers. Ripeness and alcohol levels are being driven to unprecedented heights by rising temperatures in wine-producing regions around the world. Cool-climate New York, however,

It took two Americans to recognize that the future of English winemaking lay in sparkling wine. In 1988, Stuart and Sandy Moss planted classic Champagne varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Until then, English vineyards had been domina

_Lahofer Winery _Dobšice, Czech Republic _Chybik + Kristof Hectares of vineyards dot the landscape of South Moravia, the Czech Republic’s capital of wine. Grounded in the region’s viticulture tradition (which dates back to the third century) and grac